Results presented in this report provide the first 

published investigation into the detailed makeup of the 

wind energy workforce as well as a glance at the 

educational infrastructure and training needs of the 

wind industry. Insights from this research into the 

domestic wind workforce allow the private sector, 

educational institutions, and federal and state 

governments to make better informed workforcerelated decisions based on the current data and future 

projections. 

The research had five components:

1) Conduct a wind industry employer survey

2) Compile an evolving catalog of wind-specific 

education and training programs

3) Correlate employer preferences with available 

education and training programs

4) Project new hires needed in the wind workforce to 

account for growth needed for the 20% Wind by 2030 

scenario

5) Estimate the number of graduates needed by 

program type (e.g., graduate-level course, community 

college degree). 

A robust workforce is essential to grow high-quality domestic wind industry 

capabilities. The purpose of this research is to better understand today’s domestic 

wind workforce, projected needs for the future, and how existing and new education 

and training programs can meet future wind workforce needs. 

NREL is a national laboratory of the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency

and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Growing a Wind Workforce: The National Wind 

Energy Skills Assessment Report Suzanne Tegen 

May 5-8, 2014 • PO-5000-61251 

The information contained in this poster is subject to a government license.

AWEA WINDPOWER

Las Vegas, Nevada

May 5–8, 2014

NREL/PO-5000-61251

Introduction

• NREL subcontracted with BW Research for the survey.

• NREL’s wind employer online and phone survey began in 

August 2012.

• The utility-scale wind sample included 418 companies. 

The Wind Industry Employer Survey

Results: Level of Difficulty in Finding Qualified Applicants by Occupation

• Used primary survey data to assess current 

employment

• Anchored employment results to 20% Wind Energy 

by 2030 report (U.S. Department of Energy 2008), 

which estimated industry growth rates.

• Anchored O&M jobs to cumulative installed 

capacity

• Anchored construction and development jobs to 

annual installed capacity.

• Built in:

• Retirement rates 

• Labor efficiency gains.

Responses greater than 70% for the sum of “Some or Great Difficulty” are 

highlighted in green.

The seven occupations highlighted in blue are those exceeding the threshold 

on both 25% “Great Difficulty” and 70% “Some Difficulty” or “Great Difficulty.”

Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL 21958

Results: Importance of Wind-Specific Degree

Results: Final Estimate of Education & Training Gap

Occupation Some or Great Difficulty

Professors & teachers 84%

Product designers 75%

Trade workers 71%

Manufacturing salespeople 64%

Wind technicians 79%

Construction managers 72%

Professional trainers 77%

Development technical specialists 74%

Engineers 66%

Scientists 71%

Research engineers 69%

Managers of sales, operations, and training 61%

Attorneys 44%

Transportation/logistics workers 41%

Land-leasing agents 46%

Development managers 52%

Paralegals 44%

Supply chain & purchasing managers 54%

Construction laborers 73%

Resource assessors & surveyors 44%

Development finance 40%

Admin/clerical 35%

Manufacturing managers 74%

Government regulatory workers 73%

O&M accountants & bookkeepers 60%

Assembly workers 67%

% Rating "Very" or "Somewhat" Important 

College 

Degree 

Wind EnergySpecific College 

Degree 

Ratio of Importance of 

Wind Energy-Specific 

College Degree vs. Degree 

Not Specific to Wind 

Assembly workers 29% 29% 100% 

Wind technicians 40% 40% 100%

Development technical specialists 84% 47% 56%

Research engineers 97% 48% 50%

Professors & teachers 100% 47% 47%

Trade workers 19% 7% 38%

Engineers 100% 36% 36%

Development managers 94% 28% 30%

Resource assessors & surveyors 88% 24% 27%

Managers of sales, operations, & training 95% 24% 25%

Transportation/logistics workers 53% 13% 25%

Land-leasing agents 62% 15% 25%

Professional trainers 91% 22% 24%

Construction managers 77% 18% 24%

Scientists 100% 20% 20%

Paralegals 100% 17% 17%

Product designers 93% 15% 16%

Manufacturing salespeople 86% 11% 13%

Admin/clerical 61% 8% 13%

Manufacturing managers 80% 10% 13%

O&M accountants & bookkeepers 93% 7% 8%

Supply chain & purchasing managers 79% 6% 7%

Attorneys 100% 7% 7%

Development finance 85% 5% 6%

Construction laborers 9% 0% 0%

Government regulatory workers 100% 0% 0%

Results: One Segment of Jobs in Today’s Wind Industry

25%

18%

12%

9%

7%

7%

3%

3%

3%

3%

3%

Subset of the Workforce Captured in Our Survey (~46,000 Workers)

Wind Technicians

Engineers

Trade Workers and Specialists

Construction Laborers

Admin/ Clerical

Management

Accounting/Finance

Scientists

Education & Training

Assembly Workers

Development Management

Supply Chain Management

Salespeople

Transportation/Logistics

Resource Assessment/Surveying

Wind Workforce Projection Method

To meet predicted wind industry growth over the next 20 

years, we need to increase the number of wind-energyspecific education and training programs offered at the 

community college and university levels.

Degree/ 

Certificate

Maximum New 

Hires Needed 

with WindSpecific 

Degrees/ 

Certificates

Type of 

Institution 

Offering

Estimated 

Percent of 

Graduates 

Entering 

Wind 

Industry

Number 

Needed to 

Graduate in 

Max Year

Estimated 

Graduates 

Per 

Program 

Per Year

Number of 

Programs 

Needed in 

United 

States

Number of 

Programs 

Currently 

Available

Difference

Post-secondary 

professional 

certificate 

(journeyman, 

trade/technical 

programs)

2,750 Community & 

tech colleges 83%

3,310

21

160 70 90

Associate's degree 1,000 Community & 

tech colleges 1,200 60 90 0

Bachelor's degree 800 University

48%

1,660

34

50 20 30

Post-bachelor's 

professional 

certification (e.g., 

CPA, PE, LEED)

210 University 440 10 NA 0-10

Master's degree, 

Ph.D., or Law 550 University 1,150 30 20 10

Source: A National Skills Assessment of the U.S. Wind Industry in 2012 

Michael Leventhal and Suzanne Tegen, NREL 2013

www.nrel.gov/docs/fy13osti/57512.pdf

Photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 17128

Photo from Gamesa, NREL 16001

Photo from Northern Power Systems, NREL 13853

Job Type